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Front Cover: Oil painting on canvas - 5 ft x 5 ft. The entire philosophy of Jainism is based on ahimsa - non violence towards all living beings. Even the
minuscule living form has to be treated with tremendous compassionate universal eternal love. The bright 24 petalled lotus is symbolic of the 24 liberated souls - the 24 Tirthankaras. The lotus itself is an iconic representation of purity, divinity and divine grace. The central graphic figure is the cosmic man (loka purusha). Here the cosmological scheme is super imposed on the human body in
an attempt to synergise the microcosm with the macrocosm. The human body is divided into three - the lower world (adholoka), the middle world (madhyaloka) and the upper world (urdhvaloka). The swastika is the first auspicious symbol from the ashta mangala.
The blessing hand has a pure gold bindu expressing the purity of the soul (jiva). The panchamahabhuta or the five primordial elements of nature, include the radiant red fire (agni). the tranquil blue water (jal), the nurturing green earth (bhumi), the vast bright white cosmos (akash) and the golden breath of life air (vayu) These panchamahabhuta have been divine witnesses envelop
ing the message of Jainsm, helping mankind to reach the final stage - moksha - liberation.
Back Cover: Oil painting on canvas - 5 ft x 5 ft Shri Vatsa is an auspicious mark seen on the upper chest of all the 24 Tirthankaras, symbolising compassionate universal love for all living beings. The four-petalled blooming lotus also represents the four dimensions of purushartha (dharma, artha, kama and moksha) which these liberated souls
have transcended. The radiant sun is symbolic of the brilliance of Jain philosophy which has 16 emotions as its
fundamentals - sol bhavana depicted in the form of 16 rays of light. The pure gold bindu is the core of the sun, a reminder to mankind of his
final goal - moksha - liberation.
Both the front and back covers have been specially painted for The Times of India, to mark the 2600 th birth celebration of Bhagwan Mahavir. Both the covers as well as all the
paintings in this book are the creation of Saadhak Shivaanand Saraswati (Udayraj A. Gadnis). The paintings are an artistic representation based on extensive
research undertaken by him over the past three years.
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